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Loyalists
Loyalists are a faction of Humans who are loyal to the throne of Wesnoth. Humans are a versatile race who specialize in many different areas. Similarly, the Loyalist faction is a very versatile melee-oriented faction with important ranged support from bowmen and mages. Races Humans The race of men is an extremely diverse one. Although they originally came from the Old Continent, men have spread all over the world and split into many different cultures and races. Although they are not imbued with magic like other creatures, humans can learn to wield it and able to learn more types than most others. They have no extra special abilities or aptitudes except their versatility and drive. Although often at odds with all races, they can occasionally form alliances with the less aggressive races such as elves and dwarves. The less scrupulous among them do not shrink back from hiring orcish mercenaries, either. They have no natural enemies, although the majority of men, like most people of all races, have an instinctive dislike of the undead. Men are shorter than the elves, but taller still than dwarves. Their skin color can vary, from almost white to dark brown. Mermen The Merfolk live in the shallow parts of the ocean, wary of the monsters that lurk in the deep. Ordinarily they form alliances with no one, but in Asheviere's time they allied with the elves in order to defeat their captors. Mermen are powerful and quick in any watery environment, but struggle greatly to move on land. Units The Loyalists have the most units of all the Multiplayer Factions - 8. Spearmen Description: Solid melee fighter Strengths: Very cost-effective, good damage becoming impressive at day plus firststrike ability, ranged retaliation, no vulnerabilities Weaknesses: Restricted to only pierce damage, not very mobile Advancement: Reasonable, flexible choices The backbone of the loyalist army. He will do a decent job against most enemy units, and thanks to decent HP he can hold his own in a line and even has a ranged attack to discourage low-HP ranged attackers from trying to pick at them - at 6-1 it isn't to be underestimated, even though not crazily powerful. At day he has 9-3 or even 10-3 base damage, which is enough to soften up and kill most units that don't resist pierce by a lot. The only units spearman really underperform against are woses, heavy infantry and most importantly skeletons, and to some extent ghosts. Still, against factions that field these spearmen are usually and in limited numbers still fine investments to kill other units, dark adepts in the undead army for instance. They rip apart drakes and cavalry - if they can catch them! A very respectable performance for only 14 gold. The only thing that beats spearmen at being cost-effective - and even this may be arguable - is the orcish grunt. Three strikes are kind of the balanced middleground between the killing POWER of two high-damage strikes and the killing RELIABILITY of four lower-damage strikes. Especially at day a spearman can take a solid chunk out of most enemy units, while keeping decent chances to kill against low-HP units. If you don't know what to recruit next, 90% of the cases you can't go wrong with another spearman. It's good to have one or two in the initial recruit lineup. Skeleton-heavy undead or wose-heavy rebels might be among the exceptions. Advancement choices are difficult. Basically the swordsman is more reliable and finally gives you a first-rate bladed melee fighter, while being able to resist both blade and impact using their armor, but is fully vulnerably to pierce. Pikemen become nigh-impervious to pierce and are extremely strong pierce damage dealers, and have the firststrike ability, which is always discouraging for melee attackers. It's a matter of which damage type you need. Since loyalists already have a very strong level 1 pierce unit they can freely recruit I'd get swordsmen more often than pikemen. It depends on your recruitment strategy. If you tend to recruit more fencers or cavalry for their bladed damage and use the spearman as a pierce specialist, getting the pikeman is a no-brainer. If it's the other way around - and considering fencers and cavalry are pretty specialized and expensive for mainstay melee units, it usually is - then your pierce heaviness is a weakness you're probably struggling with already, and transforming one of your spearmen into a swordsman will ease it quite a bit. Of course, there is a third, very interesting choice: The javelineer. Basically, he is a unit that is slightly better at both melee and ranged than a level 1 specialist would usually be - 24 potential damage in melee, 22 potential damage in ranged combat. This makes him a unit that can put the hurt on its attacker regardless of which way he is attacked. There is no low-punishment way to get rid of a javelineer, especially if he is on good terrain. On the attack, he can exploit the specializedness of any unit. He can stab an archer to near-death in one turn, and shish-kebab a grunt from afar on the next, and always makes a good account of himself, losing few HP against any unit. He also gets the pikeman pierce resistance - basically he is a pikeman with 6 less potential melee damage, and 22 more ranged. His only bane is pierce-resistant units - woses and skeletons especially. And XP-wise, he is a dead end - all the XP he gets is sucked into the black hole that is AMLA, while pikemen and swordsmen actually can develop to be credible level 3 threats. Then again, when do you ever get a level 3 unit in multiplayer? Heavy Infantry Description: Strong and durable, but slow specialist melee fighter Strengths: Highly damaging attacks, possible fearless trait, high physical resistances, impact damage Weaknesses: Slow, expensive, low defenses, vulnerabilities to fire and cold Advancement: Kind of hard, improves on its strengths solely Heavy infantry is a good deal more expensive than spearman and does many jobs not nearly as well. He is slow to reach the frontlines, he won't get the good terrain he needs, all the while not doing THAT much more damage (11-2 versus 7-3 is a difference of half a point in average damage). However, more damage in fewer strikes has its advantages - many enemy units that got halfway damaged can die to a single solid HI hit, which is a clear ctk advantage compared to having to deal two spearman hits. Also, heavy infantry are hard to damage. If the enemy doesn't have fire or cold attacks available, their next best bet is impact, which is usually melee, and that means opening themselves up for his melee retaliation. Even at often 30% defence, HI is seldom easy to kill. Being fearless makes it more viable to defend your front at night, where heavy infantry usually will end up due to being too slow to retreat as the rest. If the enemy does not have units to counter, he will be afraid of fearless heavy infantry at all times of day. Most importantly, however, heavy infantry fill a niche in the loyalist roster, being the only source of meaningful impact damage. Many units spearmen can't deal with can be fought effectively using heavy infantry. Skeletons, for instance, rip apart spearmen, but are crushed into oblivion by heavy infantry. Though you can deal with skeletons using mages, heavy infantry is much more capable in defending against both kinds of skeletons - mages get ripped apart if they are attacked by skeleton warriors. When recruiting, remember that heavy infantry is very expensive. Get him if you're sure you need the high impact damage and his excellent resistances. If the enemy can't field cold or fire units, heavy infantry can usually take attacks from three sides easily, and protect the rest of your force this way, but since they are unable to run away be careful with their HP. Recruiting several heavy infantry is necessary to effectively fight mass skeletons, but be sure to add horsemen or spearmen to the mix to deal with the inevitable dark adepts hiding behind the lines. When poisoned by an assassin, don't feel like you should immediately retreat if the heavy infantry is still at high health - if you recruited him you need his attack power, and he might account for himself better by dishing out the damage he can still do than by hanging about villages way behind your attack force. And assassins are vulnerable to impact. Knalgans do not have cold or fire. They usually have to take out heavy infantry by poking them with thunderer ammo at any time, whittling them down with footpads and using the secondary attack of the dwarvish fighter at night. This makes heavy infantry an annoying adversary for Knalgans, especially on castle terrain, as they also have no units that get past the 50% defense. Heavy infantry can also do well in a loyalist mirror, since the only loyalist units than cet rid of them with anything resembling efficiency is the mage, and other heavy infantry. Mages are easy to take out if not properly protected and are not cost-efficient against other loyalist units. Heavy infantry is slow, however, so your enemy has time to react and will certainly get heavy infantry himself, and stay out of range with his other units whenever possible. As an initial recruit, get one if you want to if he can take a village while moving towards the front, but only ever get one at most. Get more later if you feel the need to provide the enemies' melee units, like spearmen or grunts, with a serious challenge, or if he just likes skeletons that damn much. Be very afraid of cold and fire. Fencer Description: Elusive tactical surgical striker Strengths: Four attacks, skirmisher ability, hard to hit Weaknesses: Frail, weak attack power, low resistances, only bladed damage Advancement: Tricky because of reliance on high defence instead of HP, advancement improves it all around, even adding ranged option Fencers are the exact opposite of heavy infantry in pretty much everything. They are not frontline fighters - the lack of armor and the vulnerability to physical damage makes that clear. What they are good at is finishing off near-dead units and slipping onto beneficial terrain during a battle, hopefully at the same time, where they get their much-needed 70% defence. Their bane is magic and marksmanship, and the simple fact that only two or three hits of many dedicated melee units and/or archers are generally needed to kill them, as hard to score as they may often be. Use and recruit fencers sparingly, even at day they simply don't dish out damage nearly as well as the cheaper spearman. It's their ability to score tactically important kills where no one else can get to that makes them valuable, and for that you need other units to soften up the targets too much to get more than one fencer. Skirmisher and high defense is the only real reason to get a fencer instead of the only slightly more expensive, but much more durable, faster, and potentially harder-hitting cavalry, or more spearmen. I'm not kidding with what I said about magic being the bane of this unit. Against drakes, loyalists, rebels and undead the magical units present WILL take out fencers with extreme efficiency. Spearmen account much better for themselves - More HP, and a javelin to the face for anyone who tries that magic crap, at lower cost. Northerners get orcish assassins - at night their ranged attack not only poisons the fencer, but deals 5-3 damage at 60% hit chance, enough to have them run away to their villages, sometimes enough to kill them. Knalgans, again, aren't that good at getting rid of fencers, and it might be satisfying to feed them their own medicine, footpads and thieves being heavily vulnerable to blade damage. Keep in mind that fencers will tend to be ineffective against dwarven resistances, however, and at night ulfserkers will almost invariably get rid of them - if they can reach, which a smart player will easily avoid. If you want a fencer, get him in the initial recruit - he can make himself useful in the village grab instantly, being the only six move loyalist unit. Any faction has units he can be useful against, so you can sometimes get away with a second fencer in the initial recruit, but personally I'd feel much safer with a spearman in his place. Cavalryman Description: Hybrid scout/frontline fighter Strengths: High movement, good resistances, solid melee attack Weaknesses: Extreme pierce vulnerability Advancement: Reasonable, advancement adds ranged attack and improves it all around This is the usual scout choice for loyalists. 17 gold is a very fair price, and what you get for that is a unit with nice tanking and damage-dealing capabilities as long as you can keep it away from pierce, which is not easy. Against non-pierce, it performs very well considering it fulfills scouting roles too. It's a good unit to block adepts thanks to cold resistance and solid damage. It's not the best scout around - its movetype restricts it in that respect. No melee units can boast to perform as well as cavalry against woses in defense or attack at any time of day - cavalry still lose one on one against woses on forests based on their HP disadvantage. Strong cavalry deals extremely respectable base 9-3 damage at day, which for a scout is only contested by the gryphon rider (the 6 gold difference is justified by the gryphon's higher defense, better mobility and lack of dependence on the day/night cycle). Cavalry resists blade only slightly less than skeletons resist blade, so against skeleton warriors these guys actually don't fare badly, at least on open terrain - kind of a very soft counter if there are no mages or heavy infantry available. Impact resistance makes them quite effective against walking corpses - they resist the mass attacks and can often kill one per turn. Pierce vulnerability is a crucial aspect - if your enemy is heavy on pierce delegate these guys to scout duty, and don't get more. Most initial recruits include one or two cavalry units for scouting and village grabbing, and more can be gotten if surveillance of the enemy's forces call for an impact and blade resistant open ground melee fighter that is twice as fast as heavy infantry in reaching the frontlines. Horseman Description: Unrivalled shock force at a price Strengths: Extreme damage on the offense Weaknesses: Extreme pierce vulnerability, expensiveness Advancement: Kind of tricky, makes it even stronger and more versatile Always keep in mind how much these units cost. They are extremely strong and feared rightfully, but the only way they can be worth the investment is if you use them for what they're best at - killing. Horsemen, especially at day, have an unrivalled capability for ctk - units that might be at almost full health might get obliterated by a single horseman strike. 36 base potential damage (unmodified for time of day!) blows everything out of the water, but it's counteracted by the fact that retaliation of any dedicated melee unit will often hurt the horseman more, and more importantly your coffers! Only ever consider using them against dedicated melee units if you CAN kill those in one hit, and use against firststriking units - since they also all happen to pierce - is something to avoid entirely in most circumstances (if the unit in question happens to be the drake slasher leader at just enough HP that one strike would kill, it might be worth a try - but keep in mind that even then it might only be 60% chance to kill, 40% chance to lose an extremely expensive unit!). Recruiting too many of these in a regular 100 gold match is a common rookie mistake, which places all your bets on odds that might work out, but often end in dead horsemen. Rarely more than one unless you're swimming in units already. Horsemen are first rate adept killers and kill everything else that doesn't have meaningful melee damage with unrivalled power with low punishment, so they can be worth the money, but support them. Get him in the initial recruit if you like, but be wary of the possibility of encountering an all-skeleton force. Cavalry does quite a lot better against skeletons than horsemen, and is less dependant on other units for protection. The choice between knights or lancers usually isn't a hard one; unless you absolutely want to get a super-fast glass cannon that gives 16 xp to the enemy in case of failure, get a knight. They can do the charge thing well enough to kill most units on their own already, and they get a just plain solid melee attack. While it's not better than the one of the much-cheaper swordsmen, it's not supposed to be - it just gives the knight much-needed options that the horseman didn't have. Merman Fighter Description: Naval melee specialist Strengths: Makes good defensive use of water terrain, cheap, cold resistant Weaknesses: Somewhat frail, restricted to water Advancement: Reasonable, advancement improves it considerably Loyalists are one of three factions that get a dedicated water unit - in this case the Merman Fighter. At 6-3, he is not as destructive as your spearman, but he doesn't have to be - he is there to get those 60% defense off water terrain, or to navigate through bodies of water in order to catch fliers or other water units. Especially those pesky bats. One of these guys rarely hurts, since the official single player maps are balanced to make them useful. On some maps water is the best terrain available in the middle of the map, where the main skirmishes take place, and having mermen around will give you an edge. Drakes don't like being poked with their tridents at all either, and mermen love taking swamp villages and resisting cold attacks by adepts. Keep in mind that recruiting too many will result in the enemy simply staying away from the water, so stick to one, in the initial recruit on some maps, and get another one if there is a lot of action happening in large bodies of water - these guys will outperform many units that might endeavour to take control; they will destroy the drakes, kill the bats and gryphons when working in pairs and fighting at day, and give a solid fight against hunters and nagas. It should be noted that Merman fighters actually have the same base HP as spearmen - a merman fighter in water or swamp is as sturdy as a spearman on a village, mountain or castle. Bowman Description: Ranged pierce dispenser Strengths: Respectable archery damage, solid HP Weaknesses: Less cost-effective and beefy than spearmen Advancement: Reasonable, considerable improvement Viewed from a pure damage angle, bowmen lose hard to spearmen, being at only 6-3 pierce, which remains at 7-3 at day. Their pierce damage, however, is ranged. This makes bowmen prime choices to attack against melee units and defend against ranged units, which basically means that their role is reversed from that of the spearman. That said, they have less HP and their ranged attack is only 7-3 at day versus 9-3 or 10-3 of the spearman - in other words, they are quite a bit less destructive, which coupled with the fact melee units are more common and the consideration that lack of tanks is usually worse than a lack of non-tanks, means that if you don't know what you're up against, spearmen are just more sensible. Against melee, Spearmen tank and occasionally chuck javelins while the enemy gets pincushioned by your bowmen, against ranged bowmen tank and spearmen get to rip them apart. Against a drake opponent for instance your bowmen would rip apart clashers and fighters, with the spearmen mopping up after they have been brought to kill-ready, and provide an efficient roadblock versus Burners while your spearmen rush out from behind them to give the fire-breathing bastards a run for their money. In the initial recruit get this guy only if you've got a spearman already. Maintain a healthy mix of spearmen versus bowmen (more spearmen than bowmen!) or just go all spearman, it's up to how you want to play and how the enemy recruits - if he goes heavy on melee units like drake fighters, clashers, or grunts, a spearmen/bowmen mix will be more effective than a pure spearmen one - bowmen attack, spearmen form solid line and preserve their HP to repel the enemy melee units, giving them lots of punishment even on death thanks to firststrike. Problems arise, naturally, against pierce resistant enemies. Save up for mages instead then. Mage Description: Magical offensive powerhouse Strengths: Excellent magical fire damage Weaknesses: Low HP, expensive Advancement: Crazily powerful, but nigh-impossible to get in a normal multiplayer game A mage is better than a bowman when it comes to ranged attacking - that's plain to see. Especially magical is just an awesome property. Against high defense, mages kill better than anyone else in the loyalist roster. 9-3 damage at day at always 70% is extreme. Fire damage means they don't care about physical resistances and provide counter for a great many units - indeed, it's hard to imagine a more effective way to battle woses for the loyalist than to get one or two of these guys, possibly with cavalry as support, to burn them to a crisp and hack through the remains. Four mage hits can do it from full HP at day. With all the praise, let's get to the reasons why you shouldn't get as many of them as possible. Obvious one: The enemy has only lots of drakes. Two less obvious reasons: they are expensive (much more so than the bowman), and they can't tank for their lives. If you can't protect your mage, he is not making a good account of himself considering what you paid for him. Give these guys the support they need, and they will make you much less vulnerable to being countered. Bowmen have much more HP - even if their melee retaliation is nothing like it used to be they're still much less easy to get rid of from good terrain. If your only requirement is that the unit have a ranged attack, bowmen are more sensible deals - the mage is to be recruited if you want a magical and/or fire attack instead of pierce. At least magical is something you usually want to have badly, so most of your games should see at least one mage recruited. Don't be afraid to get more if the enemy's asking for it! Okay initial recruit - even against a drake player he can be used against skirmishers. Still, it's safest to get the spearmen you need for their protection first. Get one mage later, except if you discover your enemy to be drake - wait until you see skirmishers rear their ugly little heads. Get even more mages if your enemy goes heavy on the skeletons or HI and especially woses - anything but mage just doesn't scare woses enough for them not to be used. Should you ever get a level-up, consider carefully. Red mages don't do anything your other mages couldn't do, and they lose time of day advantage - 8-4 vs 9-3 at day is not more powerful enough to justify all the XP you had to feed to get him there. Of course, they are quite destructive at night in exchange... But all your other units are much too dependant on day to make that as usable as you'd like. Still, at dawn, when your attacks start, being able to deal 8-4 magical to the enemy's blocker unit instead of 7-3 can make quite the difference. Arcane damage is wonderful against undead, drakes, trolls, elves, woses, but not extremely effective against loyalists or outlaws. However, the white mage offers village level heal for eight squares of unit, which overall leads to me declaring them the better bet for loyalists, since they don't have any other units that heal. History This is the HIstory for Wesnoth. Prehistory - 20 YW: The Founding of Wesnoth During the age of the Founding of Wesnoth, there were two important geographic locations, these being the Green Isle and the Great Continent. Haldric is the main historical figure at this time. This age ends with the founding of Wesnoth as a country in the Great Continent, and with Orcs attacking both elves and men from the sea. Prehistory Birth of the world. (And then, Dave said "Let there be light." And there was light.) Elves and Dwarves inhabit the Great Continent. Humans inhabit the distant West. Haldric's people colonise the Green Isle from a continent further to the west. 200 BW The Lich-Lords arrive on the Green Isle after losing a war in the distant West. After a long war Haldric's people come to dominate the Green Isle. The 'Wesfolk' and their Lich-Lords are pushed onto marginal lands. 12 BW The Crown Prince of Southbay discovers the Great Continent. 11-7 BW The Crown Prince makes several voyages between the Green Isle and the Great Continent. 6 BW Following these voyages to the Great Continent, the elder Crown Prince falls ill and dies. His younger brother is implicated in a plot to kill him. As a distraction the younger Prince starts a war with the Wesfolk and their Lich-Lords. The Lich-Lords sense they will be destroyed and open gates to the homeland of the Orcs in the West. 5-2 BW The Green Isle is overrun with Orcs. The Wesfolk desert their Lich-Lords as they fear becoming prey for the Orcs. Prince Haldric leads the evacuation of the survivors to the Great Continent. The Rise of Wesnoth begins. 1 BW Human settlers, led by Prince Haldric, arrive at the western coast of the Great Continent (the landfall occurs in the future Bay of Pearls) in large numbers. Humans arrive in the middle of a simmering dispute between the Elves and Dwarves. The Elves and Dwarves are distrustful of humans, and there is a small skirmish. Messengers from Wesmere Forest come and ask Haldric to come before the Ka'lian. Prince Haldric asks the Four Elvish Lords (Dionli, Logalmier, Aryad, and El'Isomithir) for help and land. They set before him four quests to prove his worth, which he completes. 1 YW Haldric is granted the plains north and south of the Great River. Haldric agrees to a Pact of Mutual Defence with the Elves, but the Ka'lian decides it will betray him and allow humans and orcs to exhaust each other in war if the opportunity presents. Haldric, learning of this, considers the Pact a dead letter. The Ruby of Fire is temporarily hidden, and the lich-lord Jevyan is deceived into believing it is held by the Elves. Haldric founds the country of Wesnoth in the central plain south of the great River. Reign of Haldric I begins. The Rise of Wesnoth ends. 2 YW Orcs, following the ships fleeing from the Green Isle, begin to arrive on the Great Continent. These Orcs are defeated by Haldric's forces. Some of the Orcish survivors flee back to the Green Isle, others move to attack the Elves. King Haldric helps the Elves fight the surviving Orcs. 8 YW A second wave of Orcs arrive from the Green Isle; these Orcs begin claiming large portions of the northern Great Continent for themselves. Erlonas of Wesmere is involved in the first direct elvish clash with orcs (An Orcish Incursion takes place in 8-9YW). Haldric I publicly repudiates the Pact he spoke with the Elves, refusing to give aid. 9-11 YW Many Elves are killed in battle by the Orcs. Elvish emissaries are turned away from Wesnoth. 12 YW Kalenz escapes an orcish invasion of his home in Lintanir Forest. The Legend of Wesmere begins. Orcs fail to take the Wesmere Forest and instead march down the coast, devastating human settlements there. Elves refuse to aid the Humans in confronting the Orcs. Human refugees from the coastal settlements relocate in what will become known as the Great Central Plain. Dan'Tonk, which will become Wesnoth's largest city, is founded. 20 YW Haldric I dies. Haldric II ascends to the throne. Humans and elves decisively defeat the orcs at Weslath, thus halting the orcish advance. A new treaty between humans and elves is signed and King Haldric II allows emissaries of the Elves to return to Wesnoth. Elves inform Haldric II of the danger posed by the unshielded Ruby of Fire. 20-130 YW: The Taming of the Wild This era is that in which the kingdom of Wesnoth expanded and defined its borders, and settled the area which it had claimed for its own. The Taming of the Wild refers to the settling of the unsettled lands, as well as to the colonization of the Northlands. The end of this era is marked by friction between the city-state of Elensefar and the country of Wesnoth, which will continue for the next several hundred years. 21 YW Founding of the Great Academy on Alduin. 23 YW Kalenz and Landar, later to become successive High Lords of the Elves, are able to sneak into orcish camp by stealth and assassinate the Great Chief. A long orcish civil war for succession follows. The orcs are unable to undertake action against any other race during this period and Wesnoth enjoys a long period during which it can expand with little opposition. 24 YW Kalenz is relieved of command by the Ka'lian. He retires to Lintanir Forest with Cleodil. A faction of xenophobic elves begins to gether around Landar. 25-40 YW In 25 YW Haldric II sends an expedition to retrieve the Ruby of Fire from its place of concealment. Haldric II commissions a Dwarven tribe to build the Scepter of Fire with the Ruby of Fire as its centerpiece; Elves associated with Landar's faction attack during the transfer. Scepter of Fire begins. Action of The Scepter of Fire takes place. Haldric II is informed that the Scepter was both completed and lost in the year 40. It will not be recovered for nearly 500 years. With the death of Thursagan, the Runemaster, all runemasters are killed and runesmithing is lost for several centuries. 26-50 YW Landar declares himself High Lord of the Elves, leading to civil war. 51 YW Wesnothian New Writing (the script later called "steel-hand", to distinguish it from the more complex "brush-hand" cursive brought from the Green Isle) is promulgated by royal decree. From this date all royal documents and public inscriptions are in New Writing. It spreads rapidly via the mercantile class. The older brush-hand writing continues to be used for magical purposes, scholarship, and in certain elevated literary forms. 50-93 YW Elvish civil war (and The Legend of Wesmere) ends. Kalenz declared High Lord, begins reorganizing and militarizing Elvish society to fight the orcs. In late 93 YW he cedes control to a reconstituted Ka'lian and retires again to the Forest of Lintanir. 121 YW Orcish civil war sputters to a halt. Raids on elves and humans resume. Period of uncontested human expansion ends, but the Wesnothian Army is more than equal to any of its opponents in battle. 122 YW City of Elensefar is sacked by orcs. Meneldur, a sailor of Elensefar, sets out on a quest to regain the city. 123 YW Elensefar is retaken by Meneldur along with Undead from the Green Isle. Elensefar becomes an independent city-state for the first time. 161-164 YW The newly crowned king sought to make safe once and for all the wildlands that separated the human cities surrounding Weldyn and the coastal regions of Elensefar. The grand army of Wesnoth, personally led by the High Council of Archmagi, destroyed all enemies residing within Wesnoth. The city-state of Elensefar is formally united to the kingdom. Settlements from it spread north of the river into the new frontier province of Annuvin, carefully avoiding the margins of Wesmere Forest. 164-176 YW During this twelve year span, the western fortress of Halstead was erected in the very heart of the western wilderlands. 199 YW Emboldened by the far-reaching arm of Halstead's protection, settlement in the west explodes The cities of Aldril and Carcyn grow to become major cities, the first as an important port due to its position on the Bay of Pearls, and the second as a stop on the road to Elensefar and military outpost along the Great River Settlers from Carcyn cross the Great River to establish the first settlements north of it 200-350 YW: The Golden Age of Wesnoth The Golden Age of Wesnoth was the time of the great kings, and of peace and prosperity within the kingdom. The Orcs had suffered a grave defeat at the hands of Wesnoth and Elensefar seventy-five years earlier, so they did not pose much of a threat, and whenever they did attack they were quickly defeated. This allowed the army to lessen in size, and the kings of this age to undertake the great public works they are renowned for. The era ends when the king of Wesnoth dies without an heir, and a new dynasty begins. 251 YW Cleodil, wife of Kalenz, dies. 350 YW Disintegration of the Kingdom follows the death of Haldric IV. Elensefar remains a province of Wesnoth but exerts increasing independence due to isolation. Treaty between lord of Elensefar and king of Wesnoth signed. 350-417 YW: The First Dark Age of Wesnoth The first Dark Age was a time of strife and invasion. When Haldric IV died, he left Wesnoth without a king, and the next 70 years were marked by short-lived dynasties, attacks by ever more aggressive orcs, and the further separation of Wesnoth and Elensefar. The Dark Age ended when Garard I took the throne, and began a new dynasty that would last for several hundred years. 353 YW Village of Maghre terrorized by a minor necromancer. Action of A Tale of Two Brothers takes place. 360 YW Malin Keshar born in Parthyn. 363 YW Last of Kalenz's children dies. Kalenz, condemned to outlive his offspring by the potion of Crelanu, leaves the Forest of Lintanir and begins wandering the Great Continent. 389 YW Garard, a future king of Wesnoth, is born. Malin Keshar returns to Parthyn from the Academy at Alduin. Descent Into Darkness begins. 417-530 YW: The Turmoil of Asheviere King Garard's dynasty was long-lived and productive, but it was also punctuated by significant turmoil: the end of the first king's rain was marred by orcish and undead raids, and the second was murdered by his own wife and son. It was not until 517 YW that the usurpation of the throne by Queen Mother Asheviere was ended. 417 YW Ending years of strife and division, Garard I seizes the throne and becomes king of Wesnoth, beginning the Garardine Dynasty. 440 YW Crown Prince Garard II is born. 442 YW Delfador, later called "the Great", is born. 450 YW Prince Arand is born. 468 YW Zorlan become Great Chief of the northern orcs Delfador graduates from the Great Academy. Delfador's Memoirs begins. 470 YW Garard I dies; Garard II ascends to the throne of Wesnoth Orcs under Great Chief Zorlan and undead raised by the necromancer Iliah-Malal raid Wesnoth's borders. All but the first and last scenarios of Delfador's Memoirs take place in this year. Control of the Estmarks is effectively lost during this war, not to be regained for decades. Outposts are built on the near side of the Weldyn to repel orc raids. The long watch of the River Guard begins. 478 YW Garard II marries Asheviere. Garard issues the Edict of the Scepter, providing that the crown shall settle after his death on whichever member of the royal family successfully retrieves it from the Caverns of Flame. 480 YW Crown Prince Eldred is born. 483 YW Erain and Ethyn, identical twins and brothers of Eldred, are born. 498 YW Princess Li'sar is born. 500 YW Prince Konrad is born, the youngest of several sons of Prince Arand. Wesnoth and the orcs of the north go to war. 501 YW Betrayal on the battlefield Garard leads his army to orc encampment at Galcadar by the Ford of Abez. Garard's forces split into two groups, one led by himself and the other by his son Eldred. Eldred betrays his father and attacks him with the troops under his control. Eldred slays King Garard and his uncle Prince Arand on the battlefield of Abez. Reprisal Delfador escapes the battle and heads to Weldyn. Eldred gives tribute to the Orcish king, who stops his attacks. Delfador gathers a force of Loyalists to avenge Garard's Death. Eldred's forces confront Delfador's Loyalists at Weldyn. The Loyalists are defeated, but Eldred is slain by Delfador in the fight. Asheviere seizes power Asheviere orders the slaughter of Garard's nephews and declares herself Queen of Wesnoth. Hearing of the news Delfador infiltrates the palace. Delfador finds the youngest prince Konrad as he is slain. Delfador flees, taking Konrad's body for burial to the land of the Elves. While traveling through Wesnoth, Elf Lady Parandra finds an orphaned human child. Parandra and Delfador agree to give the orphan the identity of Prince Konrad. Delfador and Konrad flee to live in refuge with the Wood Elves of the great southwestern forest. The country resists Asheviere Elensefar refuses to submit to Asheviere and declares itself an independent city-state. After several defeats, Wesnoth's army retreats from the remote areas of the kingdom. The western Wesnothian border recedes, is fixed, and remains heavily defended. As a result of the loyalist withdrawal, several small human communities on the west coast of the Great Continent live in relative independence while elves flourish in the great forest to the southwest of Wesnoth. A band of Wesnoth citizens organizes resistance to Asheviere's siezure of power. They are eventually forced to abandon their home and settle in the Three Sisters (Liberty). 502-517 YW Delfador raises Konrad under the protection of the Elves. 517 YW Asheviere hires Orcish forces to hunt down her nephew-in-law Konrad. Orcish forces converge on Delfador's refuge. Konrad flees his home with the elves and embark upon a quest to regain the throne of Wesnoth. Heir To The Throne begins. 518 YW Konrad crosses the Great River into the Northlands on a search for the Sceptre of Fire. They enter the Caves of Knalga, allied with Princess Li'sar, and find it. They return to Wesnoth and claim the throne. Heir to the Throne ends. 522 YW Birth of Princess Ana'sar. 530 YW Wesnothian colonists begin reclaiming the Estmarks. 544 YW With both sides of the lower Weldyn River again civilized territory, the River Guard posts south of Soradoc are abandoned. Wesnothian military activity shifts eastward into the Estmarks. 530-630 YW: The Age of Fear The Age of Fear takes its names from the events of the end of the era. On the surface, the first 90 years were very uneventful. However, during this time unexplainable magical events took place, especially in the eastern lands. Previously tamed lands were slowly claimed by wilderness as fear and paranoia gradually overshadowed the spirit of pioneering and adventure displayed earlier in Wesnoth's history. In the last 10 years of the age, Wesnoth bore the brunt of the most powerful Undead attack ever and was nearly destroyed. By the end of the era, most of Wesnoth had been made barren, most of the great buildings inside and outside of Weldyn were razed, and the population of Wesnoth was half of what it had been. It was in this era that certain areas of the chaotic Northlands were for the first time put into any kind of law and order. A small group of humans and dwarves, accepting anyone of any race who wished to join, formed themselves into the "Northern Alliance”, with the vision of making the Northlands safe to live in. Over time, this alliance grew slowly but steadily in power. By the end of the era, the alliance had succeeded in making a few small areas, including Knalga and the surrounding regions, stable and prosperous. Consequently, many people evacuated from the wasteland that most of Wesnoth had become and moved north - depleting the population of Wesnoth still further. 533 YW Delfador succumbs to old age and dies, his body is entombed alongside his staff in Eregonor. The next great sage of Wesnoth, Dacyn, is born. 534 YW The small community of Dwarven Doors, in the Northlands just outside Knalga, rebels against the Orcish overlords. Northern Rebirth begins. The residents, led by Tallin, head underground and find dwarves, whom they ally with. Their combined forces destroy a lich who is attempting to claim Knalga as his own. 535 YW The warlord-aspirant Rakshas attacks Tallin and his forces, but does not penetrate the dwarves' defences. To help defeat the orcs, Tallin secures the help of two Liches, and rescues an elvish princess to secure the help of the elves. Assisted by his new allies, Tallin smashes the forces of Rakshas. According to some historians, Tallin and the elvish princess are married; others say they parted in bad blood. To preserve the new-found peace in the Northlands, Tallin and his allies form the Northern Alliance. Northern Rebirth ends. 550 YW Lord Hamel of Knalga sends an expedition to Kal Kartha to determine the fate of the Hammer of Thursagan (The Hammer of Thursagan takes place in late 550 YW to early 551 YW.). Dwarves at Knalga and elsewhere begin to reclaim the lost art of runesmithing. Wesnothian colonization expands southward past Fort Tahn. 563 YW Konrad and Li'sar die after an extraordinarily long reign. Princess Ana'sar becomes queen. The seer Galdren becomes prominent at the court of Weldyn. 585 YW Queen Ana'sar retires. Haldric VII becomes king of Wesnoth. 589 YW Dacyn the White Mage and Ravanal, an eastern wizard, compete to be the king's advisor. The seer Galdren dies after advising Haldric VII to choose Dacyn. The king does as Galdren advises. 593 YW Ravanal reveals that he has turned to evil, and flees from Weldyn. Konrad II is born. Certain southern frontier regions are formally annexed to the Kingdom of Wesnoth as the Province of Kerlath. 598 YW South Guard organized as a semi-detached formation of the Royal Army, to protect the inhabitants of the frontier province of Kerlath. 607 YW South Guard ceases reporting. Haldric VII sends Deoran, son of Haldiel, to investigate. The South Guard takes place in 607-608 YW. 612 YW Haldric VII dies. Konrad II is crowned King of Wesnoth. Dacyn continues his duties as advisor with Konrad II. 625 YW Mysterious disappearances of livestock and peasants cause partial evacuation of the the Estmark Hills. Lords of the Horse Plains report increased banditry from there. Konrad II sends Dacyn with Owaec and Gweddry to man the old River Guard strongpoints. Eastern Invasion begins. 626 YW Mal-Ravanal attacks the middle outpost where Gweddry and Dacyn are stationed. Dacyn and Gweddry travel to the northern outpost, and, with Owaec, retreat into the northlands. 627 YW Wesnoth's last defences are broken and the undead march on Wesnoth In the northlands, the orcs drive Gweddry's army back across the river. Weldyn is besieged. Gweddry breaks through undead lines to reach Weldyn. A council is held. Gweddry's army is fortunate and kills Mal-Ravanal. Eastern Invasion ends. Wesnoth is saved, but large portions have been laid waste by the undead. 628-673 YW: The Silver Age of Wesnoth The Silver Age, or restoration of the Wesnothian kingdom, essentially coincides with the rest of the long and successful reign of Konrad II. During this period Wesnoth largely recovered from the damage that Mal-Ravanal's undead attack had done. It would, however, never quite regain the majesty it had at the height of its power. The Northlands, aided by a second wave of colonization north from Wesnoth, become more civilised and stable. Although nowhere near as prosperous as Wesnoth was during its Golden Age, the Northlands developed towns of significant size and a thriving - if somewhat dangerous - trade network. Four major powers soon came to dominate much of the Northlands. First there were the dwarves, who controlled most of the mountains and a vast array of underground tunnels and caverns. To the east, shrouded in mystery, lay the Elvish forests which continued to be inaccessible to anyone not of elvish blood. The remaining landscape was dominated either by orcish tribes, or independent human earldoms. As competition for the land grew fierce, wars smoldered between human and orcish forces. 628-635 YW Konrad II begins his attempt to rebuild Wesnoth. 673 YW Konrad II dies, bringing the Garardine Dynasty to an end. Second Wesnothian civil war begins. 761-816 YW: The Legacy of Black-Eye Karun After decades of struggle, Black-Eye Karun becomes the first warlord since the assassination of Great Chief Brurbar in 23 YW to unite all the different squabbling orcish tribes under his banner. Among his many accomplishments as a Sovereign, his most famous is the creation of the Great Council. Karun was a far-sighted individual and he knew that after his death the orcish tribes would once again turn to fighting among themselves, with little he could do to prevent that and consequent peril from the Wesnothians and elves. Consequently, Karun selected from among all the different tribes six of the most sober and wisest orcs and thus created the Great Council. It was the Great Council's job to stay aloof from any tribal or territorial squabbling amongst the orcs, but yet always remain there to give advice to whomever came to seek it. In order to preserve the orcish race in the event of an emergency, he invested in them the power to call up The Great Horde. It was established that every orc, no matter what tribe he came from, must obey the summons of The Great Horde and follow wholeheartedly the leader that the Great Council put at the head of The Great Horde. 816 YW Rahul I (Lord Protector of the Northern Alliance) and Black Eye Karun sign a peace treaty ending a 15 year war between the humans and the orcs. Soon after this Karun, is ambushed and killed in mysterious circumstances. 842 YW War once again breaks out between the orcish tribes and the northern human earldoms as humans break the long standing treaty and attempt to colonise orcish lands. In response, the Great Council set up by the Black Eye Karun calls upon The Great Horde and bestows leadership of it upon Kapou’e; Son of the Black Eye begins. 843 YW Half of the Great Council is treacherously slain by the allied human forces and orcish unity disintegrates. Faced with the extermination of all the orcs on the Great Continent, Kapou’e forcibly asserts his control over the orcish territories and defeats the enemy forces. The Northern Alliance arrives on the scene in time for the final battle and helps Kapou’e defeat the forces of the northern earldoms, who had broken the treaty. Kapou’e then assumes the position of Sovereign over the northern tribes, and his rule ushers in an unprecedented era of unity and prosperity for the orcs. 852 YW Kapou’e repels a large elvish invasion. 858 YW The humans once again stage an invasion but prove to be no match for the united orcish forces under the leadership of Kapou’e. Son of the Black Eye ends. After the Fall At some unknown point in the future, an unspeakable cataclysm scorched the surface of the lands. Forests died, hills turned into rocky wastelands and fields became barren deserts. In the apocalypse allies turned against each other and friends fought over what few resources remained. The great nations were destroyed, and huge numbers of people died. Still amidst the chaos somehow small groups of people survived, sheltered in hidden places. In this post-apocalyptic world survival is a daily struggle as a few remaining tribes eke out an existence among the ruins of fallen empires. Heroic bands of elves, nomadic refugee humans, savage hordes of orcs and dark necromancers all forge new lives under the merciless dual suns, Sela and Naia, of this new Wesnoth. ??? Post-Wesnoth The Quenoth elves adapt to life in barren world of the Great Southern Desert. Over time they lost their affinity for the woodlands of their ancestry and embrace life in the sandy wastelands. Under the leadership of Tanuil, the Quenoth elves build and sustain a fortified village around a rare oasis. The village thrives amidst the hostilities of the desert. One night, a meteor storm rains from the sky and destroys the village of the Quenoth elves. The next day, Tanuil, like many others, is missing and presumed dead. Kalehssar (Kaleh), nephew of Tanuil, takes leadership of the remaining Quenoth elves as the surviving next of kin. Kaleh, heeding the voice of his god Eloh in his dreams, gathers the remaining Quenoth elves and leads them north to a new promised land, foregoing rebuilding of their desert village. The Quenoth elves battle their way north through Undead, Orcs, Bandits and other evil, venturing underground beneath a large mountain range at the command of Eloh. Befriending unexpected allies underground, Kaleh's forces survive to the other side of the mountain. Keratur, son of Tanuil and survivor of the cataclysm, insane with fright attacks Kaleh. Kaleh defeats Keratur. Kaleh defies commands given him by a vision of Eloh. The Quenoth reach the ocean. Aided by Merfolk, they escape the mainland and head for a newly discovered island, a place where the Quenoth may settle in peace. On the island, the Quenoth confront Yechnagoth, the Eater of Souls and impersonator of Eloh. Yechnagoth and army are destroyed by the Quenoth. Kaleh and the elves settle on their newfound, and newly named, Quenoth Isle. Category:Descriptions Category:Faction